Charming Lily
by Superhero11
Summary: "This was the one thing that everyone in Hogwarts knew, but no one openly talked about. James Potter was hopelessly and madly in love with Lily Evans, and had been since he had first met her on the train in first year."Charmed Love-James POV. Read&Review!
1. Facts About Him

**Author's Note: This is my story Charmed Love in the perspective of James Potter. But please note that this is not by any means a diary. I never have pictured James as the type of person to keep a diary, and if he did if fact write in one he would not write faithfully enough to keep the story pot going equal to Lily's. This story's purpose is to give you reader's extra information and insight into the inner workings of the mind of James Potter as best that I could do through 3****rd**** person.**

**Disclaimer: I am only going to do this periodically throughout this story. I do not own James Potter, Sirius, Remus, Peter, or Lily. Those characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and no matter how much I wish, alas, I still do not own them, but if I did… James Potter would be MINE!**

**Now on with the first chapter…**

Charming Lily

Chapter 1

There are certain things in a person's life and about their character that never change. Sometimes it is simply how they look or maybe how they brush their teeth in the morning. It could be small things like how they slant their letters to the left when they write. Yet it could possibly be the fact that they are the youngest of nine siblings or maybe that they are an orphan.

In his life, James Potter had things about him that stayed the same. Things about him that seemed so permanent that they could be filed into that selective category that we call facts. Facts that everyone seemed to know about, or found out about shortly after meeting him.  
James Potter was the only child to Simon and Julianne Potter the wealthy, respected, pure-blood family. Where ever James went people recognized him immediately because he looked so much like his father. Most of the time James enjoyed such attention, he liked that people paid attention to him.

However, there were times when James wished that one would recognize or remember him. It was on those occasions that he would have been pulling some badly-thought-out prank that Sirius had concocted. Only to find that as he was hiding or sneaking off that someone would see him and then the element of surprise would be ruined.

He was a Maurder. He broke the rules, received more detentions than he cared to remember. He hexed people when they were bothering him or simply because they were there, especially Snape. Snape just irritated James to no end. He was not entirely sure why he hated him so much. It just happened as soon as they first laid eyes on each other. They decided to loathe each other till the end of time.

He was friends with a werewolf. Admittedly not many people knew about that one, actually only his friends knew about it. It took him three years to find out that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. That was actually when the Maurders really started their group. They decided that they wanted to be able to help their friend through his transformations. So Sirius, Peter, and James decided to become Animagi. And that was how they each got their nicknames…Peter- Wormtail, Sirius- Padfoot, Remus- Moony, and James- Prongs. This was probably the best kept secret that James had. Sure everyone_ knew_ about the nicknames, they just didn't know what they _meant._ James found that he liked that he had something that he kept to himself. Well, he would not mind telling _one person._

There was one person in the world that James would not care if they knew his every secret. Because when that happened he knew that this person in question would undoubtedly return the favor and James would give everything that he owned or could borrow to know those thoughts.

This was the one thing that everyone in Hogwarts knew, but no one openly talked about. James Potter was hopelessly and madly in love with Lily Evans, and had been since he had first met her on the train in first year.

It was just something that happened, something that he had no control over. He knew that she was going to be different. She seemed to already be close friends with Snape, so he knew that she must not judge people too harshly. So, it really surprised him when she took a strong dislike for him.

And even though it seemed like she hated him, he still found that he was in love with her. It wasn't until third year that everyone started to talk about it. It seemed like that was the only thing that people could talk about. The fact that James Potter fancied the only girl that outwardly detested him.

However, it was not until their fourth year that he actually asked her to go on a date with him. And every single time he asked she just said "no" and turned on her heel to walk away. But it wasn't until their 5th year that she actually got angry that he had asked her out. And unfortunately it was in the same moment that she broke her friendship with Snape. Personally, James didn't see it as much of a loss, but he could tell that she was hurt by Snape calling her a _mudblood_. He had tried to help, but Lily didn't want help from anyone just then, and most especially not from him. All this didn't change his feeling towards her. He still considered her to be the most wonderful female in existence. Everything about her was just, perfect. He still persisted in asking her out, but he tried to lessen the frequency to being once every other day or so, whereas it used to be daily.

Now this did not mean that James had not dated other girls at Hogwarts. He was too much of a guy not to notice other attractive women. And when he did date them, he like them well enough, but it was just mere lust. It just was not like it was with Lily.

When Lily was around his throat felt tight and his mind went temporarily blank. When she walked past him, his heart sped up and his palms started to sweat. It she smiled he couldn't help but smile back foolishly. With other girls it just was not, could not, ever be the same.

So when his owl came at the end of summer break he was surprised and nervous to see that he was Head Boy. Partly he could not even believe that he had gotten the position in the first place. He was just sure that Remus or someone else was going to get it. He had been in too many detentions to have and serious hopes at getting it. He was at the top of his classes, but he didn't think that they merely chose Head Boy on their marks. It came with no shock though that Head Girl was no other than Lily Evans. He _knew_ that that was going to happen as sure as if it had been written in the stars.

Sometimes it seemed that the job description was written with her in mind. She paid attention in class and received excellent marks. She followed the rules and is something of a goody-goody-two-shoe, but she still would stand up for you if you were being treated unfairly. She was just a _good_ person. Okay, maybe he was a little bit biased, but she must at least come pretty close to that mark.

"This job means a lot to Lily. If I am ever going to stand any chance with her I can't screw up this year." James mumbled to himself as he boarded the Hogwarts Express and began looking for Remus. Sirius was a bit ahead of him, even though they arrived at the same time, since he was in a bit of a daze.

He found the Maurders with no trouble at all. They were in the same compartment every year because it was the farthest from the prefect compartment. Sirius was lounging around trying to engage Remus in conversation. Remus was already reading another book trying his best to give Sirius short answers without seeming rude. Finally Peter was fidgeting in his seat looking at the two of them with fascination and awe.

"Oh, look, James is here." It was Remus who noticed him first having looked up over the top of his book to answer one of Sirius's questions about his summer. "Now you can talk with James instead of bothering me while I am trying to catch up with this reading."

"I don't want to talk to Prongs right now; I have seen him every Sunday this summer." Sirius said straightening up to make room for James next to him. "And what could you possibly be behind in reading, we have not even gotten to school yet, Moony?"

"You would not understand if I tried to explain it to you." Remus said as he turned to another page in his book.

James listened to their exchange with a wry smile on his face. They always did this, but this was probably the earliest that it had ever started. They would get engaged with something like this and then completely forget about the other people with them. This in his present state of mind suited him just fine. He had to think of a way to convince Lily that he was going to take his job seriously.

Maybe he should start by being responsible. He could start by showing up for the meeting on time, taking the time to make sure that they covered all of the important topics. Also, he should try to follow the rules himself. It would probably not look to good if the Head Boy was constantly in trouble.

"James. Oh, God, he is not listening. I don't think that his brain is even attached to the rest of him right now, and that really just means one thing. He must be thinking about Lily Evans again." Sirius said waving his hand in front of James's face.

"How did you know?" He knew it was pointless to try to deny it; Sirius knew him inside and out.

"Prongs, you always wear this deep-in-my-thoughts expression when you are thinking about Lily. It is really not that difficult to recognize, and you do it quite a lot to tell you the truth, mate." Sirius said as he rolled his eyes.

"Well. Of course I am thinking about her. This is my last year with her; I just have to convince her that we are meant to be." He knew that it sounded like a bad romance song, but he had said the words to her so many times that he actually had begun to believe them as the truth.

"Yeah, James time is running low." Peter squeaked out. James's head snapped around to look at peter. Sometimes they forgot about him because he just never spoke up. He just observed them, seeming content to just be with his friends.

"Peter is right. I have nine months left with her before I might not see her again. I can't _not_ convince her that she is in love with me. I have to be able to accomplish that." James explained urgently looking at his friends hoping against hope that they night move on to another conversation. He really just wanted to think about it and not listen to what they had to say on the subject.

_But, alas._ James thought. Things never work out like they do in one's mind.

"Prongs, all you have to do is kiss her breathless. You just have to grab her by the arm, drag her into a broom closet, and kiss her until she can't even remember her own name. It is actually quite simple, mate. I have done the same thing myself on many an occasion." Sirius said straightening up in his seat while talking animatedly with his hands.

"I will take that into consideration if I get really desperate." He personally liked the idea, his imagination getting away from him for a moment. He could picture pulling her into a corner, his arms slipping around her waist to hold her against him. He would bend down so that his lips could touch hers… James Blinked a few times to clear his mind and bring it back to reality. Something told him that however much he might love the thought; he knew that Lily would probably not share those feelings.

"Well, I think that that plan will work just as good, if not better, as any you can come up with." Sirius said in a slightly defensive tone. However, sensing that he was going to get nowhere with that idea, he decided to change the topic. "So James, have you told Moony and Wormtail the big mistake that Dumbledore made?"

"I thought that Professor Dumbledore was as close to being infallible as one could get." Peter said looking between Sirius and James for an answer.

"Well, maybe he had his reasons, but I sure as hell can't see them." Sirius muttered, then cleared his throat and announced in a big voice. "In all of his infinite wisdom Dumbledore has made our Prongs, here, Head Boy." He finished with a big flourish of his hands in James's direction.

"I think that that is very good, for James. He needs something to give him a better sense of responsibility." Remus said finally taking part in the conversation as he marked his spot and closed his book. "He is growing up, and that is a good thing. You, Sirius, could stand to mature some, too.

"I am as mature as I need to be. I just don't want to be a figure head of good behavior." Sirius said quickly looking at Remus with an offended look on his face.

"Thanks, Remus." James muttered. "At least one of my friends thinks that I can manage the job. I plan to take the responsibilities very seriously." He added knowing that that was only part of the truth. He wanted to do all of that because he wanted to show Lily that he had grown up. And then hopefully convince her that she was in love with him.

"Well, mister-responsibility, do you know what time it is? It would not look very good if you are late for the first meeting." Sirius said casually looking out of the window.

"Oh, crap. I have to go." _See Lily, my love._ He added in his mind. "Tell you how it goes later." James said pinning on his badge before hurrying from the cabin.

But before he left Remus whispered to him. "You know, James, Maybe you should try to be friends with Lily before you do anything else. I think that she would react better that way. However, it is for you to decide what you want to do.?

James stood there for a few seconds processing this new option. He really had not considered becoming her friend, but now that he thought about it, it really seemed like the way to go.

"But it all amounts to nothing if you don't go find her for the meeting." Remus said with an amused lilt in his voice.

Without another word James finally left the compartment in search of Lily. Well, it was not so much of a search because he knew which compartment her friends and she would be in.

So he hurried down the corridor a little ways to her cabin. And just as he predicted Lily was in there with her best friends Alice St. John and Beth Foster. They were in the middle of a conversation because he could see Beth moving her hands while talking to Lily whose back was to the door and him.

He stepped up right to the door and put his hand on the door latch. _You can do this, James._ He said giving himself a little pep talk._ You have a legitimate reason to be here, so therefore she won't get to aggravated with you._

Without another thought James slid the door open and before he lost the ability to speak he said two words… "Hey Lily."

**Author's Note: Well I hope that you liked it. I don't know when I will get to update this again what with school starting soon. I hope that it will not take me too long.**

**Please leave me a review. I love reading them!**

**Love Allison**


	2. Ever the Gentleman

**Author's Note: I apologize that it has been almost a year since I posted on this story. It is horribly remiss of me, but as I said, I did not abandon this story. I just wanted to work more exclusively on Charmed Love because that has been my priority. But I am home today with nothing else to do, so I decided that I was going to be nice and update this for you.**

**Dedication: I know that I rarely do this, but I wanted to dedicate this chapter to SecretMarauderette because she has asked my several times in her reviews if I am planning on updating this story. I dedicate my stories to my readers in general. But this update is dedicated to her. I hope that you like it, SecretMarauderette. =)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lily Evans or James Potter or any other J.K. Rowling character. Now, on with the chapter…**

Charming Lily 

Chapter 2; on the Hogwarts Express

"Hey Lily."

_Those two words are possibly the most eloquent words in the English language._ James thought to himself as soon as they passed from his lips. He liked the way that his mouth moved when he said it; then again he just liked everything about it.

Moreover, he could just content himself with saying it over and over in his mind each with different inflections of his voice. He could say it while he was laughing or if he was surprising her with something. Or if he was trying to just get her attention from her conversation with her friends Alice and Beth. Whatever it was that they were talking about must have been something private because when she whirled or rather twirled around, because _His_ Lily could be nothing but graceful; it was a definite movement of surprise.

But in her doing so, her hair spun out from her head. He wished that there was a more poetic way to put that, but it was exactly what it did. The force of her spin had caused her hair to take flight and swing around her head.

He hoped that he looked more collected than she did. At least he had known what to expect, Lily on the other hand was probably not expecting him because they did not usually run in the same circles. Well, that is excepting the times where he had purposefully put himself in her presence so that he could show her what a catch he was. Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the door and folded his arms across his chest and decided to soak up the sight of her. Because with Merlin's failing eyesight as his witness, his eyes (which are probably about as good as Merlin's without his glasses) would never tire of looking at Lily.

_His Lily_, if only she would just accept it.

James rather thought that she looked like an angel. The light was coming in from behind her outlining her silhouette with a faint gold line. It illuminated the edges of her hair making them look decidedly more strawberry blonde than her trademark rich, dark auburn. Her emerald green eyes were wide and stunned, perfectly complimenting her expression which was one of confusion, shock, and possibly just a glimmer of envy.

And maybe his brain was just traveling in circles but again the only two words that were coming to his mind was _"Hey Lily"_ but he had a feeling that those two words would have been more of masculine appreciation than those of simple greeting.

However, the more that he thought about it, those were two words that he would not even mind saying every morning for the rest of his life. He wanted to see her when she got up in the morning; her eyes clear, reflecting the first rays of the sun outside. Maybe even a piece of hair would be caught in her mouth just like it was now…

Suddenly James's thoughts were filled with what he should do now.

Should he mention the piece of hair in her mouth? That did not seem like a very good idea because it has been his experience that women are very concerned with their appearance. So if he did tell her about it, she would probably be embarrassed and then later find some way to make the hair-flying-into-her-mouth-and-getting-caught-in-there _his _fault. That idea was definitely out.

Would it be beneficial to walk up to her and casually brush the lock of hair out of her mouth? He rather liked the idea because he had always wanted to touch her hair to see if it is as soft as it looks. But in order to do that, he would have to get close enough to reach out and touch her and that would prove to be a bit of a problem. Lily has a personal bubble that extends three feet around her, and so help you God if anyone but one of her friends pop that bubble. The last guy rumored to have tried was gagging up slugs for the rest of the day.

Was he willing to risk that? The answer: Yes, he was.

In order to get close enough to her, he had to start the conversation again. His brow creased in concentration…_how to start a conversation with Lily Evans so that she does not start spitting fire right away?_ Now that was a question that could keep him up at night.

_Oh for the love of the Quaffle!_ James muttered under his breath. He just needed to man up and say something.

"Evans, are you okay?" He finally managed to get his mouth to cooperate with his mind and say something.

"I am fine, thank you. I'll ask you, however, what in the world you are bothering me for?" She replied in a bored sounding voice.

At her response, James's insides went decidedly numb and all thoughts of sunrises bouncing off her hair and eyes were shoved into the box in his mind labeled pointless fantasies. _Well,_ he thought _two can play at this game._ "I just came to tell you that we need to get ready for our first prefect meeting here on the train to brief the 5th years what to do. And that meeting is in…about…seven minutes." He finished looking down at his watch and then over at Lily.

"Oh." Lily began and James could literally see her mind whirling at his statement. She was thinking that she was going to have to leave Beth and Alive before her conversation was up and go with him even though she did not want to. "I guess that we should get going then." She continued smiling at him hoping that she could cover her dislike for him.

But James was not fooled. He saw through all of her pointless pretences. He knew that he has always been a real jerk to her in the past. If only she would see that he acted that way because he was nervous that she would see past the façade. That she would realize that all of his bravado and flippancy in asking her out was a joke, and that the truth was that he really did fancy her. That he did believe it when he said that the sun rose and set in her eyes.

So he resolved that he was going to follow Remus's advice and be the perfect gentleman to her this year. And that was going to have to work, because he sure knew that nothing else was winning her heart.

Thinking that there is no time like the present, James decided that he should just start now. So he dipped his head the same way that all the men in his mother's sappy romance films did and said "Right after you."

Lily muttered her reluctant goodbyes to her best friends and walked briskly from the cabin. _But maybe walk is not the right verb here. It is much more like a sprinting walk, as if she were practicing for a bloody muggle track meet._ James thought as he sped up to match her speed. Thank heavens for Thomas Pine's work-outs for quidditch that he has been doing since he made the team in 2nd year that have kept him in shape.

About to start up a conversation because this awkward hallway jogging was starting to annoy him. He needed to bring this back to something that was familiar. "Lil-" was all he managed to get out before the "Lil" in question interrupted him.

"We are going to be late if we do not hurry up. Come on." She urged not even bothering to look back at him.

James had to swallow back the retort that was forming in the back of his mouth that went along the lines of "the only way that we could go faster is if we hopped on my broom and flew to the compartment or if we used bloody floo powder." But instinctively he knew that that type of comment was not going to help his act-like-a-gentleman-to-Lily plan, and just followed her wordlessly into the compartment.

They took their respective seats and called roll to make sure that everyone was here. One they had determined that James decided that introductions were in order. Not that everyone didn't all ready know who they were, but he knew that this was a perfect time to make Lily blush, and she looks so beautiful when her cheeks are flushed with the most delightful shade of pink.

"So before I begin this meeting, I thought that I would introduce myself and my lovely counterpart, Lily Evans." James said as flashed a dazzling smile at the girl prefects. _This is going to be good_ James thought to himself as he paused to take a breath. "I am James Potter, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, member of the Marauders and just recently appointed Head Boy, much to my own confusion."

He was rewarded with several laughs but also a reproving look from Remus. He was shaking his head silently reminding James that he was letting his ego get the better of him again.

"And this is Lily Evans, Head Girl and probably the Brightest, most delightful witch of our Age." James added as he sent what he knew to be his most dazzling smile in Lily's direction.

She looked flustered as her cheeks started turning pink. _Ahh, beautiful_. James thought as he smoothly scooted over closer to her, wanting to bask in her rosy glow.

"I hardly think that that much or grand of an introduction was necessary-" Lily began.

"Not nearly grand enough for you Lily." James interrupted quietly so that no one else could hear. He was not sure that she even heard it until he saw her shift uncomfortably in her seat and turn positively scarlet.

"So now that we have all the _pointless_ introductions out of the way, I think that we should get this meeting started." Lily continued on as she moved further away from James; she was sitting on the opposite side of her seat.

It took James a few moments to realize what Lily was about in moving away from him, but once he caught on he decided to take some steps to make things better. He knew that he needed to talk to her, but only how to get her attention without everyone else's attention as well.

_A-HA!_ James shouted in triumph in his head. He would just write her a note that would be the best solution.

So with quill and parchment in hand, he started thinking about what to write as he only half-listened to what was Lily was saying.

After debating if how much he wanted to write, he heard Sirius's voice say from the corner of his mind… _"James Potter, be a man and own your balls. Write the damn note and be done with it."_ Heeding his best mate's advice James scratched out a short note.

_Lily, _

_After this meeting you and I need to talk about something. And don't try to get out of it because I will win that argument no matter what you say._

_Yours, _

_James_

Short, sweet and to the point; it said exactly what it needed to say without too much of the extra flowery crap…Merlin only knows how he didn't want to scare her off by writing a poem or something like that.

James effortlessly took up the instructions…It is amazing how many of the rules and restrictions that one learns when one is breaking them all of the time. And in no time at all Lily's response-note was sitting on top of his papers.

_James,_

_Fine, I will talk with you, but I don't know what we could possibly talk about. I do not have anything that I need to converse with you about._

_Sincerely, _

_Lily_

She agreed! James wanted to get up and start dancing or possibly even start singing the Weird Sister songs that his mum was forever listening to.

The end of the meeting could not come fast enough. But eventually all things come to a close, (even ones that are worse than listening to Professor Binns drone on about the Goblin wars, in James's opinion) and James found himself that the meeting was over.

He was with Lily.

In the prefect compartment.

_Alone._

And that thought alone was enough to get his pulse racing.

Deep Breaths. But then maybe that was not his smartest decision because now in addition to his heart beating out of control he was now experiencing a bout of lightheadedness.

Oh for the love of Merlin's outdated broomstick, this was not going the way he thought that it would at all. _He needed to start a conversation, because this silence is really unnerving_ James thought to himself as he looked down at his shoes that were propped on the table. Better to once again be direct and own his manly parts.

"Lily are you okay? Because you seemed really off during the meeting. If you are nervous I know that you can handle the responsibility of being Head Girl. You are totally capable; I have complete faith in you." He said, hoping that his compliment was going to boost her self-confidence.

"Well that is only one small portion of why I am "off". But not really the major part of it. Thanks for the concern but I don't really want nor need it." She answered as pointedly and as coldly as humanely possible.

She did not like him one bit, that much was painfully obvious. There was only one way to get her trust and possibly her kindness, and that was to spell out the fact that he was not going to act like a prat anymore.

"I know that you don't like me. I know that I haven't given you much reason to like me. I know that you think that I am arrogant, but I have really put some effort into deflating my head some. I really don't want to give you more stress than you probably, in truth, need. So, I want you to know that I'll be nice." James said looking her straight in the eyes as he let his hand rest on her forearm.

She felt exactly as she should, in his opinion. Her arm was soft and warm. But also strong and competent, showing that she was not afraid to get down and do what needs to be done. Admittedly that last part is more of a male trait, but there could be no confusion as to her sex. Her womanly curves were a testimony that she was, in fact, female. And an attractive one at that.

"Thanks, James. You promising not to intentially annoy me is a load off my mind. It is not entirely your fault though. I was not exactly nice to you either." She assured him as she let a small burst of laughter escape through her lips.

Her laughter is a lovely sound, perfect just like her. James added in his head as he felt his own face turn up into a smile. Her happiness is definitely an infectious one.

There was only one more thing to do. He had to ask the question of the day. The make-it-or-break-it question, one that would determine their immediate future.

"Great, so friends Evans?" He asked as he held up his hand in the waiting position for a handshake.

Without hesitation she took his hand in her own. "Friends." She affirmed as she moved their interlocking hands up and down in the traditional handshake movement.

After a fleeting moment when James looked down at their clasping hands he was once again reminded of the image that he had had earlier of her waking up in the morning. But he quickly pushed it out of his mind, deciding that he is just going to have to be patient and let things progress slowly.

So without further ado, he stood up saying "Lovely, well I have to go." and walked over to the sliding door of the compartment.

"Talk to you later, Potter." She smiled as she continued to stare down at her hand.

"See you around _friend_." He added. There was something else that he was debating on doing. And well, what the hell; he really did not have much to lose. So before he turned to leave the compartment, he turned around and gave her a wink.

The stunned look on her face made the risk of possibly losing certain very sensitive body parts all worth it.

_Definitely worth it,_ he thought as he walked down the hallway to the "Marauder Compartment" with a love-struck smile on his face.

**Author's Note: So here it is. I tried to make the chapter as close in dialogue to Chapter in Charmed Love. And actually it should be darn close to perfect considering I copy and pasted the words directly from the other story.**

**However, I do not plan on updating this story again until I finish with Charmed Love. So I do not really know when exactly I will be updating again. Just keep checking and eventually I promise your diligence will pay off.**

**Love and James Potter-ly Yours, Allison.**

**P.S. Please leave a review with your thoughts. =)**


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